PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL - MAY 13: Matt Kuchar of the United States hugs his children Cameron amd Carson after holing the winning putt on the par 4, 18th green during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship held at THE PLAYERS Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass on May 13, 2012 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Photo: Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL - MAY 13: Matt Kuchar of the United States...

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Matt Kuchar tees of on the first hole during the opening round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial on Thursday, May 24, 2012, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Rodger Mallison/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT)

Photo: Rodger Mallison, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Matt Kuchar tees of on the first hole during the opening round of...

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Matt Kuchar hits out of a bunker onto the seventh green during the second round of the PGA Colonial golf tournament Friday, May 25, 2012, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Photo: Tony Gutierrez, Associated Press

Matt Kuchar hits out of a bunker onto the seventh green during the...

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Matt Kuchar hits out of the sand on the 16th hole during the third round of the PGA Byron Nelson Championship golf tournament Saturday, May 19, 2012, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Matt Kuchar arrived at the Olympic Club on Wednesday and savored the serene, peaceful setting. Soon, the images of 1998 came flooding back - meeting Chris Berman on the practice range, trying a friend's putter on the practice green, the gallery singing "Happy Birthday" to him on the No. 1 tee.

"I know it's 14 years ago, but it still feels so fresh in my memory," Kuchar said.

Kuchar was a grinning, wide-eyed college kid in June 1998, when he earned low-amateur honors the last time the U.S. Open was held in San Francisco. He returns as a grinning, flat-swinging contender to win the first major title of his rejuvenated career.

It's easy for Kuchar to sail below the radar in a field stacked with high-wattage players, from Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson. Even so, the numbers tell a story of numbing and lucrative consistency, with Kuchar standing tall amid the big names.

He's the only player on the PGA Tour to finish in the top 10 on the money list the past two years and enter the Open in this year's top 10. Kuchar was No. 1 in 2010, No. 6 last year and begins this week at No. 5.

All three, like Kuchar, are searching for their first major. Kuchar, 33, brings renewed hope given the way he lingered in the hunt at the Masters in April (he ultimately tied for third) and conquered one of golf's strongest fields last month to win the Players Championship.

"You never quite know until you're there that you can win the big tournaments," Kuchar said Friday. "The Players has the best players in the world on one of the most demanding courses we play. To win it gave me a lot of confidence."

Kuchar was a revelation in 1998, because casual fans knew little about him. He had won the U.S. Amateur the previous summer, but he burst onto the mainstream scene only when he tied for 21st in the '98 Masters (playing alongside Woods, the defending champion, the first two days).

Then, at the Olympic Club, Kuchar shot 70-69 to plant himself in improbable contention entering the weekend (tied for fourth, two shots behind Payne Stewart). He endeared himself to the galleries with his perpetual, ear-to-ear smile and his obvious rapport with his caddie/father, Peter.

Peter Kuchar celebrated Matt's birdies with animated dances and exuberant high-fives with his son. This played well with fans but did not exactly thrill Justin Leonard and Ernie Els, who played alongside Kuchar for the first two rounds at Olympic.

Leonard snapped at reporters who asked about Peter Kuchar's antics after the second round, though he eventually softened. Peter ran into Leonard a short time after the '98 Open, and Leonard assured him he harbored no hard feelings.

"When you've got a 20-year-old kid making every putt you see, you're going to stand there and tie your shoelaces?" Peter Kuchar said last month. "I don't think so."

Matt Kuchar skidded off the leaderboard on the weekend, shooting 76 on Saturday and 74 in the final round. He still tied for 14th, and that Sunday stroll around the Lake Course was memorable because it was his 20th birthday and Father's Day.

"We were just having the time of our lives," Peter Kuchar said.

The good times figured to continue for Matt, but he didn't take an express ride from wide-eyed college kid to flat-swinging U.S. Open contender. Kuchar counted as a can't-miss prospect in the wake of the '98 Open, primed to turn professional early and start making waves on the PGA Tour.

Only it didn't work out that way. Kuchar stayed at Georgia Tech to earn his degree, joined the tour in 2001 and pocketed his first victory at the Honda Classic in March 2002. He then languished in the netherworld for three seasons, spent one year (2006) on the Nationwide Tour and found the spark he needed when he connected with swing coach Chris O'Connell.

O'Connell eventually taught Kuchar one of the flattest swings on tour. It's striking to watch, mostly because it seems so illogical for a player who stands 6-foot-4 - but it clearly works, given Kuchar's revival since he started working with O'Connell six years ago.

"I got better that first lesson, with a minor alignment adjustment," Kuchar said. "Then it was different shot shapes. ... Chris is a big reason I've have good years the last three, four, five years. I'm getting better and better working with him."

ESPN analyst Curtis Strange, a two-time U.S. Open champion, was asked last week about Kuchar's long, winding path the past 14 years. Strange pointed out it's not terribly unusual for a player to struggle early in his career, as Kuchar did, and then figure it out later. Sometimes, Strange said, the struggles make you a better player in the long run.

That's the way it worked for Kuchar. This time, he will wander the fairways at the Olympic Club as one of the game's top players, not a newcomer. And his dad will walk along again, no doubt celebrating Matt's good shots - outside the ropes.